ARAAT5: Resurrection

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A Rose And A Thorn 5: Resurrection

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

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Harley: Damn, I really knackered up my finger the other day and it makes it painful to type... AND my wisdom teeth are coming through. God, it’s agony.

Froggy: Hmmm... well, this chapter is all about ninja kicks and viciously attacking small children and-

Harley: I’m far too tired to pretend to be somebody else today. This is chapter ten. No sex. No drugs. Enjoy!

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Chapter Ten: The Stench Of Freedom

The explosion rocked the hotel, and then Eggman's voice boomed over the loudspeaker, "Quilla, you treacherous, evil-minded son of a test-tube! Get your ass out here right now, or I'll take the building apart to get you!"

Mirage and Midnight both looked up, rudely interrupted from their passionate embrace. Through the window they could just about see an Egg-O-Matic hovering in the air in front of the motel, and an obese man sitting in it and pressing buttons.

"Who the hell is that?" Mirage asked, "And who is Quilla?"

Midnight muttered a long string of curses as he climbed off of the hedgecat, wanting to know why his luck had to be so terrible, "That is Doctor Robotnik, a brilliant, insane, traitorous enemy of ours. And Quilla is another name I go by,” the blue warrior explained as he slipped on his glove, quickly checking to make sure all systems were working correctly.

"I think we should leave," Mirage suggested. The building shook again, and she looked out of the window. Police and army vehicles were turning up. There were doubtless more on the way too, "Quickly."

"Good idea,” the echidna replied with a nod and then grimaced, "But we can only run; not hide. He's got tracking devices inside me. I guess he finally caught on that I'm no longer on his side."

Mirage continued to look out of the window. The police were trying to clear the area and the army looked as if it was trying to get the Doctor to surrender, "Time to go!" she shouted suddenly, grabbing Midnight's wrist with one hand and his trenchcoat with the other, and dragging him out of the room, which exploded behind them. Then she ran down the stairs. As they entered the lobby, which was filled with panicking people, she pulled on his trenchcoat, and handed him his hat, looking around, "Now, which way do we flee?" she asked.

That was a good question. Glancing around at the lobby full of panicking people, he knew the military would be surrounding the place, leaving the ground floor a bad option. Since Eggman could fly in his Egg-O-Matic, going for the roof wouldn't do all that much good. That left one other direction... Taking Mirage's arm, he scanned the floor with his mechanical eye and led the hedgecat along until he found the spot he wanted, "Get back!" he warned everyone before blowing a hole through the floor and into the city sewage system with his arm blaster, "We're fleeing down."

"Oh, gods! Not water!" Mirage wailed, “I cannot do water!”

“Would you rather die?” Midnight growled, hugging her to his chest, and jumped into the hole, about ten feet down into filthy water. The building above them shook with another explosion, and that was the sound of the ceiling coming down.

"I hate water!" Mirage shouted, as the building above them collapsed. All her fur was standing on end, and it made her look as if she had been hit by a stray lightning bolt.

"I hate this water,” Midnight complained, looking a little green in the face. Yes, it was going to be a foul journey in the sewer, but it did provide protection and concealment, things they both needed. "Come on; let’s go,” he said, wading forward through the sludge, "The faster we go, the sooner we can get out of this crap."

The thing about tracking devices, Mirage considered as she tried not to breathe through her nose, was that they worked in two dimensions. In other words, that nutcase doctor would track them running down the street. But he'd have to blow a hole in it before he could get to them. As they waded through the water, she could see various smaller passages draining off down the sides. The main sewer went in one direction, "Where are we going?" she asked Midnight.

"Anywhere but here,” he replied, "Preferably somewhere with a lot of soap." Midnight didn't have much of a plan other than that. He was just making it up as he went along. "I'm thinking we keep moving until Eggman gives up."

"I do not think he is going to give up," Mirage commented, "He sounded pretty pissed off. What did you do to make him so mad?"

"I decided not to kill a bunch of military leaders for him,” he explained, sloshing through the sewer water, "And when that same military starts to bring the heat down on top of him, he will give up. For a while, at least."

Something told Mirage that there was more to Midnight's story than he claimed. But now wasn't the time to start complaining. All the water was getting on her nerves. And all water flowed downhill. And she had no idea where they were going or what they were going to do when they got there. She tried to tune out the surrounding area and kept walking.

Midnight occasionally looked up at the street above them, frowning. He’d bet that the doctor hadn't given up yet, "Come on..." the echidna growled, "Why is it that GUN is so good at destroying things except when I need them to!"

It was then that almost directly above them, the road exploded, "Nice one, Quilla," Eggman sneered down at them, "Trying to get away through the sewers! It's a real shame the sewer runs directly under a main road!" his eyes turned on Mirage, "And you've brought the clone freak with you. How interestingly treacherous."

The blast flung them both down the sewer. Mirage sat up, covered in waste, "Who are you calling a clone, fatass?!" she shouted.

Sputtering angrily as he climbed out of the sludge, Midnight growled, "You're a liar, Eggman. I know the truth now, and I'm not going be your pawn again!" Raising his blaster, the echidna opened fire on the doctor, bathing the dark tunnel in harsh red light.

Eggman laughed as a couple of bursts of the blaster hit the Egg-O-Matic, leaving little damage, "Did you really think I'd give you a weapon that could defeat me?!" he laughed, and pressed a button on his controls. The blaster powered down, "Come quietly and your freaky friend will not only survive, but she doesn't have to hear about GUN's Fortress."

"What about GUN’s Fortress?" Mirage asked, looking suspicious.

Midnight glared angrily at Eggman, frustrated at his inability to do any damage. The doctor could shut him down at any moment... "I attacked the fort in a blind rage, seeking revenge, and smearing its soldiers all over the place,” he answered casually, saving the doctor the trouble, "And why the hell should I give up and make it easier for you to shoot me in the head or whatever? It’s not like I'm going to work for you again."

"Oh, I think you might," Robotnik smirked evilly and began to gloat, "The tracking system and blaster power down are only two 'special features' I included in your upgrades, Quilla. Since all echidnas seem to have a rather disgusting sense of honour, I expect you wouldn't work for me if I threatened your life. So I'll just control you remotely instead- GAH!"

While he'd been gloating, Mirage had snuck up behind him and kicked him out of the Egg-O-Matic. He shouted in rage as he landed in the sewer, while she ran towards Midnight, "You have got a lot of explaining to do, Midnight!" she shouted at him, "Now run!"

Midnight didn't need to be told twice. He spun around and sped down the tunnel, putting as much distance between himself and the doctor as possible.

Mirage had already caught up with him, "A LOT of explaining," she repeated. Behind them was the sound of Eggman swearing a lot and climbing back into his vehicle.

"I know!" the echidna shouted as they ran, "Thought you were dead, tried to take revenge, was convinced otherwise! That's it!" They had no time for it. They had to move, had to leave the doctor behind them. Where, oh where, was that genius fox when he needed him?

Robotnik didn't need a tracker to chase them down the sewer - it wasn't as if there were any turns. They both skidded to a halt at a 100 feet drop-off, where the water was cascading over the edge. Mirage looked down for a few seconds, then up again, "Midnight, do you trust me?" she asked him.

"Absolutely,” he assured her, looking back and forth, noting their abysmal chances of getting away alive, "You've got some insane plan in mind, right?"

"I am afraid so," Mirage wrapped her arms around him tightly. Then she jumped off the edge. Midnight had been half expecting it, but it was a shock even so. The fall was worse, "Can you swim?!" Mirage shouted at him, 10 feet into the fall.

Midnight held onto Mirage tightly as they fell, praying to whatever gods that would listen to lend a hand. Horribly aware of the heavy metal parts connected to his body, he answered Mirage, shouting back, "Not anymore!"

"Well, now is a good time to learn!" Mirage shouted back at him, shifting slightly so that she would hit the water first. From that height, even dropping into water could be fatal, and she was having some major reconsiderations, "Hold your breath!" she shouted. Then she hit the water. Then she hit the cement six feet under the water. Then she let go of Midnight, who sank slowly to the cement.

Midnight landed and then grabbed Mirage, firing off the rockets on his feet which propelled him out of the water, pulling the feline along with him. Gasping for a breath of the foul air, he dug his steel claws into the sewer wall and hung there, clutching the hedgecat to his chest, "Mirage? Are you ok? Did you survive?"

Mirage choked up some sewer water - or she might have been throwing up, it made little difference, "I think I broke my leg," she commented, and then passed out from the pain, going limp in his arms.

"Dammit..." Midnight muttered and looked around in the dark of the Westopolis sewers. He was lost, Mirage was injured and unconscious, his blaster was turned off, and Eggman was in hot pursuit, "Just a little help. Please..." he begged softly, looking up.

Somebody must have been listening, because a long way up, a manhole opened. It was only a dot of light, but the young voice carried well in the underground space, "MIDNIGHT?! ARE YOU ALIVE?!" the voice of the kitsune shouted down to him.

"YES!!" he shouted up at Tails, breathing a sigh of relief, "But I won't be for long if you don't hurry!"

"Foxboy!" Eggman raged from his Egg-O-Matic, on top of the waterfall, "You're too late!"

"Sonic, Shadow, go down quick and kick Eggman's butt!" Tails shouted. He flew into the sewer, and he was followed by Sonic and Shadow.

Midnight carefully lifted Mirage up towards the lowering fox, "Take her first!" he begged, "But be careful; she's hurt!"

Tails took hold of Mirage carefully, "Don't worry, I'll look after her!" He carried the limp, wet feline, and then looked at Midnight, or perhaps more accurately, at Midnight and about 100lbs of metal, "I don't know if I can carry you!" he told the echidna. He looked up at Eggman, who was aiming a laser cannon at them both.

"GO!" Midnight shouted. Retracting his claws, the echidna again fell into the disgusting sewer water and sank to the bottom. Touching down, he slowly turned and began walking away from the waterfall, deeper into the sewer, holding his breath.

Through the water he could hear a number of explosions back in Eggman's direction. The water was gradually becoming shallower, and up ahead he could see a metal access staircase. Breaking the surface, the echidna took a deep gasp of air and immediately wished he hadn't. Ignoring the discomfort, the stench, and the desire to scrub his flesh off his body, Midnight pushed himself on, running for the staircase and ascending it.

"Dammit, Sonic!" he heard Eggman's voice back in the sewer, and another explosion, "You can keep that damn Mirage for now, but I'm going to rip Project Midnight apart if it KILLS me!"

Further and further Midnight ran, wanting to see sunlight again, wanting to be free. He was sick of this crazy chase and wanted nothing to do with Robotnik. He hoped that Mirage would be alright... her injury meant that separating was the only choice he had.

It seemed that all pursuit had, for the moment at least, been called off. Eggman obviously didn't want to have to fight Sonic, Shadow and the left side of Midnight down here. He was probably thinking up another plan. Eggman wasn't a vengeful man, but he set a lot of stock by examples, and he planned to make an example of Midnight. That was worrying. As it was, Midnight just kept climbing ladders up until he reached a manhole.

Pushing the manhole open, the echidna crawled out onto the empty street and looked around, searching for any sign of the others, "Sonic? Shadow? Tails?" he called out.

He now found himself outside a sewage treatment plant. In the distance, Eggman's Egg-O-Matic was shakily but hastily retreating, and he could also see Sonic, Shadow and Tails coming towards him.

Waving to them, Midnight said, "Thanks for the save." The echidna leaned over and panted for breath, exhausted by the long, dirty chase.

Tails was still carrying the unconscious Mirage, "We need to get her to a hospital," he said simply, "And I made something that cancels out the tracking signal. Eggman can't hunt you anymore, but he will still be angry. He doesn't give up, but he will cool down. As long as you weren't an integral part of one of his plans, of course."

"I doubt I was,” Midnight admitted, nodding, "And the sooner we can get rid of that signal, the better. Oh, and I learned that he can deactivate my machine parts remotely."

"Yeah, that sounds like Eggman, alright!" Sonic commented.

Shadow smirked and crossed his arms, "He's learned to fear his own creations. They tend to backfire on him."

"We've also still got to take back that Master Emerald," Tails added, "We can't let Eggman possess it any longer."

"Wait, what?" asked Midnight, "I thought Rouge had the Master... That double-crossing, lying sunnuva..." His hands clinching into fists, the echidna snarled.

"Uh, this is Eggman we're talking about," Sonic pointed out.

"You'll learn fast just what a bastard he can be,” Shadow added.

Midnight smiled bitterly, "Already there, Shadow. Let's just get out of here. Mirage needs checked out," the echidna tilted his head down to sniff at his own fur, "And I really need a bath."

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Harley: Now read and review.

Froggy: Next chapter is kind of intervally, but soon we'll be doing some revalations. Very soon.